Even as a small girl, Elsie had displayed a measure of simplicity, honesty, and sweetness that was at odds with the rest of the family. Elsie's step-grandmother had taken an instant dislike to the child and shown her not even the common courtesy she would give a stranger. Adelaide knew that her mother was deeply jealous of Elsie. The elder Mrs. Dinsmore envied the little girl's inherited wealth and obvious beauty. She feared that someday Elsie would overshadow her own daughters -- Adelaide and her sisters Lora, Louise, and Enna. Adelaide hated to think ill of her own mother, but she had come to understand that many of Elsie's troubles were the fruits of Mrs. Dinsmore's jealousy and bad temper.
From Elsie's Impossible Choice, book 2, chapter 1
Envy and Jealousy Produce Bad Fruits
Adelaide sadly realized that her own mother's jealousy of Elsie caused Elsie much heartache and trouble. "Many of Elsie's troubles were the fruits of Mrs. Dinsmore's jealousy and bad temper." Elsie did nothing wrong, but Mrs. Dinsmore felt threatened by Elsie's sweetness and good fortune. As a result, jealousy and envy were enflamed in Mrs. Dinsmore's heart, causing her to mistreat Elsie.
"What exactly is envy," you might be asking yourself. Envy is when you feel a strong desire for or when you are jealous of someone's possessions, opportunities, or physical appearance. Stop for a moment and recall a time when you have been envious or jealous. How did it make you feel? Did you feel frustrated, maybe a little angry?
Jealousy and envy are like wild animals that never get enough to eat. If you allow envy to take root in your heart you will never feel satisfied with anything in your life. Instead, you will find yourself always pining after more or longing for what others have. You could even become like Mrs. Dinsmore and be a source of trouble in the lives of those around you, as well as your own!
We read in Galatians 5 about the fruit of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (vs.22-23). But did you know that in this same passage there is also a list of the "bad fruits," or the fruit that comes when you give in to your sinful nature? "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: . . . hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy" (vs. 20-21a).
The fruit in Elsie's life was pretty obvious to the Dinsmore household. Elsie was kind, loving, forgiving, honest, and truthful. She bore good fruit because she devoted her heart to Jesus and knowing Him through regular study of the Scriptures. On the other hand, it was also obvious that Mrs. Dinsmore produced a different kind of fruit. She was moody, curt, unfair, unloving, and of course, jealous.
Pause for a moment and reflect on your behavior. What kind of fruit are you bearing?
Strong Warnings in the Word
The Bible speaks strongly about envy and selfish ambition.
The Bible tells us that an attitude of envy is of the devil! Read for yourself what James 3: 14-18 has to say:
"But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."
From this passage we learn that heavenly wisdom is just the opposite of envy and jealousy. When we possess heavenly wisdom we begin to adopt a pure heart, including an attitude of being peace-loving, submissive, sincere and much more! Elsie had the wisdom that came from heaven. She had a pure heart and sought God's favor and righteousness in her life.
Our hearts and minds are at peace when we strive to keep ourselves from the trap of jealousy. And we aren't blinded by always wanting "more." Instead we begin to praise God for all the wonderful things He has blessed us with, and we are able to rejoice with others in their times of blessing!
Going Into Battle
Battling envy and jealousy can be an everyday occurrence. Your freedom from jealousy begins as you start to recognize when your heart desires what someone else has. Immediately you must take that envious thought and "die" to it. This is not easy, as you are battling what your "flesh" wants. But deep inside you is the Holy Spirit - remember that you are alive in Christ and His Spirit is fighting with you! In those moments of jealousy, call out to God and ask Him to give you strength to overcome the temptation of coveting what others have. This is the process of both walking in the Spirit and renewing your mind. The more you practice it, the easier it will become to respond to jealousy. Once again, we find wisdom in the Scriptures: "and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5b). It's easy to see why Elsie always went back to her Bible for help, peace, instruction and encouragement. It's all in there, and the knowledge we gain from the Word enables us to mature in our walk with God!
Be Set Apart From The World
In our affluent society it is so easy to slip into an attitude of jealousy and envy. We have many great "things" in our country - cool clothes and jewelry, computer technology, flashy movie stars and music groups. As holy children of a Heavenly Kingdom, we must be aware of the snares that will tangle us up. Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Envy and jealousy are snares that can hinder our own freedom in Christ. There is nothing wrong with having cute clothes or the latest music CD. But when you find yourself wanting to be someone else, or wanting more "things," then you might want to consider if you are experiencing envy. God has given us so many blessings! Envy and jealousy only make us ungrateful for what God has done in our lives. So take a stand against jealousy! Walk in the wisdom that comes down from heaven! It's God's will for you to live a life free of selfish ambition and strife.
Reminders for Dealing With Envy and Jealousy:
1. Study the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5. Ask the Lord to help you harvest good fruit in your life.
2. Remind yourself that envy is an attitude of the devil (James 3). Heavenly wisdom is the opposite of envy and jealousy, and the pursuit of this wisdom gives you a pure heart.
3. Adopt an attitude of thankfulness. Instead of always wanting what someone else has, give thanks to God for what He's blessed you with.
4. Be prepared in advanced. When you feel your heart growing envious of someone, take that thought captive and bring it to Jesus (2 Corinthians 10).
5. Be a student of the Word. Elsie was faithful to spend time with God and read her Bible daily. This gave her incredible wisdom for her young age.
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